Andy Zaltzman's satirical, whimsical look at cricket

The sporting hype calculator

The amount, as a percentage, by which Muttiah Muralitharan exceeds his nearest challenger in the Most International Wickets Taken chart - 1347 to Warne's 1001. Sachin Tendulkar has scored 25.9% more international runs than the second most prolific international batsman, three-time England Ashes-winning legend Ricky Ponting. The Mumbai Master leads the Baggy Green Great by 32795 to 26052.

Also: The rating of the India v Pakistan Mohali semi-final on the Lazlowulf Scale (the international standard measuring system for sporting hype). Previous notable scores include:

2010 Football World Cup final: 6.5

Ali v Foreman, the Rumble In The Jungle, 1974: 7.3

Federer v Nadal, Wimbledon Final, 2008: 5.1

Steve Davis v Doug Mountjoy, 1981 World Snooker Final: 44.9

Tim Curtis' Test match debut for England, 1988: 62.4

Some experts dispute the latter two readings, claiming the hypometers used may have been tampered with by, respectively, Doug Mountjoy and England chairman of selectors Peter May.

Andy Zaltzman is a stand-up comedian, a regular on the BBC Radio 4, and a writer